Spokane Produce

January 15, 2025

Market News

The coldest week of the winter growing season is underway in the
Arizona-California desert. Lettuce ice is causing harvesting and
loading delays. While current quality remains strong across many
commodities, conditions such as blistering, epidermal peeling, and
slower growth are expected to increase in February.
Despite repeated lettuce ice events in the Arizona-California
desert growing region, supplies of green leaf, iceberg, and romaine
remain abundant. Harvesters trim back defective outer layers,
resulting in lower case weights but excellent quality.
Demand remains weak post-holiday, and pricing is still steady at
lower levels. We expect markets to pick up as continued cold
weather and ice events impact production.
The avocado market remains in a demand-exceeds-supply
situation. Mexican harvests resumed last week but have yet to
stabilize the supply pipeline fully, and we are still experiencing size
and grade substitutions. Markets are elevated, with allocations
industry-wide. Supply should begin to normalize in the coming
weeks, but tight conditions will persist in the short term leading up
to the Super Bowl.
The melon market remains fragile. Although cantaloupe availability
has slightly improved, supplies remain limited. Current arrivals
show good external quality with strong netting. Honeydews faces
the tightest supply conditions, with demand far exceeding supply.
Flexibility in sizing may be necessary to recieve allocations on
orders. Honeydew shortages will likely persist well into February.
Seedless watermelons are in much better supply, and we
recommend substituting until the market can stabilize in early
March when second-cycle production in Guatemala begins.

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